58 Bel Air Gasser - Gassing The Midwest

Sadly, a lot of our drag racing heritage is starting to fade into the sunset of time and oblivion-from the passing of legends like Dick Wells, Wally Parks, Pat Foster, and many others, to the destruction of storied tracks where a lot of racing legends were born. Places like Lions, Orange County International, U.S. 30, and Miami-Hollywood are where history was made, fables created, and drag racing put its stamp on American society and culture. But not everything is fading or rusting away. All across America, drag racing enthusiasts and racers are doing what they can to preserve our 1320 history.

2/16

Ted Beach grew up watching, and later racing at Indiana's fabled U.S. 30 Dragway, watching gassers like Uncle Sam, The Barbarian, Orange Sunshine, and others duke it out in quarter-mile grudge matches that were the epitome of the action during the golden age of drag racing. Another car that always turned heads and was the ire of other gassers was Naperville, Illinois-native Frank Marshall's Metalflake Red '58 Chevy named "Daddy's Thing." Powered by a 427 big-block, Daddy's Thing was the scourge of Midwest and northeastern tracks like U.S. 30, Oswego, Great Lakes Dragaway, and others. Driven by Frank, the '58 had a well-known winning reputation against its gasser and match race opponents. The name Daddy's Thing was due in part to Frank's seven daughters helping out as crew at races, where the girls would assist their mom and dad (Frank's wife raced an early '70s Demon). The '58's best time back then was an 11.12 at Lake Geneva.

3/16

After campaigning the car for several years, Frank traded it for a truck when a heart attack sidelined him from racing for good. The car was repainted and renamed Mad Wally, then raced at Oswego for a few more years until the strip shut down in '79. With the track's closing, the '58 was mothballed, not to see the light of day for almost 30 years.

4/16

Beach never forgot watching those gassers run, and over the years bought and restored some of the old veterans like the '37 Chevy Coupe Uncle Sam, and the '68 Chevelle Time Machine. When he heard that the '58 Chevy that used to be Daddy's Thing had resurfaced, he knew it had to be his. But a disappointing call to the new owner told him it wasn't for sale, so Ted went back to his daily routine and working on the cars he had. A few months later, the owner called back and asked if Ted was still interested in buying the car. Shortly after, the '58 was in Ted's shop for what would be a full rebuild back to its original racing condition.

5/16

Sitting for so long had taken a toll on the '58's body, with cancer everywhere. Since aftermarket replacement panels for '58s are nonexistent, Ted had to track down a solid donor car from Michigan to get good sheetmetal for the rejuvenation. As the restoration was progressing, Ted started getting all sorts of background info on the car's history from fellow racers and Marshall's widow. During the restoration, several holes and dings in the engine crossmember caught Ted's attention. It was found out the car originally raced with a 283, but after numerous catastrophic engine failures that left the discovered damage marks, a 427 rat was dropped in. For the restoration, Ted built a fresh 427 with massaged factory rectangular port iron heads, Comp Cams solid street roller bumpstick and valvetrain, with a Weiand tunnel ram intake and a pair of 660 cfm Holleys handling fuel delivery.

6/16

Ted's original plan was to just show the car and drive it short distances, so the four-speed it was originally raced with got pulled in favor of a JW Transmissions-built TH400, while the car's vintage '59 Olds rear was left in place but updated with modern internals. The interior was treated to a full freshening by Shobar's Trim & Upholstery with updated Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultralite gauges and a B&M floor shifter for the trans. Once the body was ready, the car was sprayed in Metalflake Red and re-lettered as Daddy's Thing. The '58 rolls once again on Cragar SS wheels, just like it was raced with back in the '70s, with ET Streets out back and Cooper tires up front.

13/16

After the yearlong restoration was finished, Ted began taking Daddy's Thing to shows and events. At one such event, he met up with the Midwest Gassers Association. The MGA guys were racing at the event, and begged Ted to take the car out and run it. After making a few hits, Ted was hooked, and knew Daddy's Thing wouldn't be just a show car anymore. Since he started racing the '58 again, Ted's run a best of 11.79 at 124 mph at Union Grove Drag-A-Way, and enjoys every moment of letting the car relive its glory days.